Jaspers Hold Off Peacocks To Win Fourth Straight

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Riverdale, NY - Junior Emma Saul (Orchard Park, NY / Orchard Park) and freshman Gemma Perez (Park Ridge, NJ / Paramus Catholic) tallied first-half goals while junior Arianna Montefusco (Levittown, NY / MacArthur) capitalized in the second frame as Manhattan beat Saint Peter's 3-1 in MAAC action at Gaelic Park.
The Jaspers improve to 6-5-1 and 4-1 in the MAAC while Saint Peter's falls to 3-8 and 1-4 in the league. Click HERE for the postgame interviews & HERE for the highlights.
 
Manhattan dominated possession early in the contest, recording six corner kicks in the first 11 minutes. The Peacocks stood tall on each opportunity until the last one, when senior Erica Modena (Massapequa, NY / Massapequa) inserted the ball from the right corner and found Saul inside the 18-yard box. Saul finished the play in opening up the scoring while scoring for the first time this year in the 16th minute.
 
The Jaspers continued to occupy the ball in the Peacocks' zone. With 12 minutes left in the first half, junior Caroline Taylor (Glen Rock, NJ / Glen Rock) almost added to the lead but was denied when her shot banged off the post. With less than three minutes remaining in the frame, however, junior Nicole Copping (Blue Point, NY / Bayport-Blue Point) crossed the ball from the right corner to Perez, who drilled a 10-yard shot to give Manhattan a 2-0 halftime edge.
 
Saint Peter's drew first blood in the second half as Victoria Babcock launched a shot from 25 yards out that cut the Jaspers' lead to 2-1 in the 57th minute..
 
Manhattan was not finished scoring in this one, though, as Saint Peter's committed a foul inside the box in the 78th minute that led to a Jasper penalty kick. Montefusco converted towards the left post in providing the final 3-1 score.

QUICK HITS
- Manhattan has now won 20-straight matches against Saint Peter's dating back to the 1998 season and holds a 24-3 advantage in the all-time series, including going 15-1 at home.

- The Jaspers have now won four-straight matches for the first time since opening the 2006 season with five-straight victories.

- In its current four-game winning streak, Manhattan is outscoring the opposition by a 13-4 count.

- The Jaspers are a perfect 6-0 when scoring first this season and have been victorious in 16-straight matches when denting the scoreboard first dating back to the 2015 campaign. Manhattan is also 24-0-1 when finding the back of the net first since dropping a 2-1 decision to Monmouth on October 8, 2014.

- Following the Saint Peter's goal, the Peacocks were pressing in the Jasper zone until freshman Maddie Barrow's (Ramsey, NJ / Ramsey) tackle in the 62nd minute reversed possession and the momentum.

- Manhattan owned advantages in shots (33-8) and corner kicks (14-0).

- Montefusco's PK goal was the second of her career. She leads the Jaspers with five goals and is tied with Modena for the team-lead with 11 points. 

- With her first period assist, Modena now has 27 goals, 10 assists and and 64 points in her stellar career.

- Perez has now scored in back-to-back matches off the bench as the second unit has five goals on the year.

- Saul's goal was her first since drilling the game-winner a year ago against NJIT.

- Modena and Saul have each notched a point in each one of Manhattan's last four wins.

UP NEXT
- The Jaspers take on Monmouth in a battle for First Place at the Great Lawn on Saturday, October 7 with first kick on ESPN3 slated for 7:00 pm.